By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com.
While the future for the site that was once Al Smith’s Place is up in the air, one thing is certain the former restaurant and motel has a new owner after an auction on Wednesday.
With a bid of $90,000 Steve and Melinda Fishpaw were the highest bidders for the slice of real estate that sits in between Wal-Mart and Tractor Supply Company. However prior to making a decision on what to make of the place, the couple will need to discuss the matter further.
“We are not really sure right now. We got a couple thoughts we are tossing around.” Melinda Fishpaw said. “We will not be making a motel, but some kind of housing possibly, and maybe we can find someone interested in the restaurant part of it.”
Handling auction duties was Joseph Mast of RES Auction Services.
“I thought the attendance was good, we had probably 50 people here.” Mast said. “I think it is one of the main reasons that they decided to go to auction instead of just put up a sign in the yard trying to sell it. I thought the prices we had at the end of the day – I thought the prices were good for what we had to sell.”
Also on the auction block were three duplexes West Warren, West Renssalaer, and South Walnut streets.